System and Method for Funding a Collective Account

ABSTRACT

A system and method for funding a collective account such as a charitable account includes issuing a plurality of financial instruments, linking the financial instruments to the collective account, aggregating individual financial instrument usage, calculating a bonus or other reward based on the aggregate financial instrument usage and funding or distributing the reward to the collective account. According to the invention, members of a civic, charitable, political or other entity may generate collective rewards or other benefits which may be attributed to the designated organization.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

Priority for the present application is claimed to U.S. ProvisionalApplication 60/307,594

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to collective benefits derived from theuse of financial instruments, such as MASTERCARD®, VISA®, DISCOVER® andAMERICAN EXPRESS® credit cards, ATM banking cards, debit cards, giftcards, smart cards, proximity type devices (i.e. such as SPEEDPASS® typedevices) and other financial instruments such as demand depositaccounts, brokerage accounts and the like as detailed further herein.More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method foraggregating benefits to fund a collective account, the collectiveaccount representing, for instance, charitable contribution funds,political funds, educational expense or other funds.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Financial transaction cards and devices, such as commercial creditcards, debit cards, transfer funds cards, private label cards, proximitytype devices (i.e. such as SPEEDPASS® devices) and stored value cardsare widely used for payments, cash advances and other financialtransactions. With financial transaction cards, data for identifying thecustomer, such as an account number, a security code, or otheridentifying data is typically magnetically stored on a magnetic tape orstrip embedded into the back-side of these types of instruments. When atransaction is to be performed at a retail store or other channel, acustomer may hand his or her card to an employee of the retail store forscanning the magnetic information into a communication device. When acredit card is utilized in a bank, in order to receive a cash advance,the transaction may for instance be handled by either a teller or anautomated teller machine (ATM). In the case of an ATM, the card isplaced inside the ATM and the card owner enters a personalidentification number (PIN) which is transmitted to the credit cardcompany along with the transaction information. When the PIN is found tobe incorrect, most credit card companies send to the card owner arequest to re-enter the PIN. Financial transaction cards used herein mayalso include smart cards, i.e., cards having electronic circuitsthereon.

Some card issuers have offered incentive programs to increase the use oftheir cards. For example, credit card rebate systems such as theDISCOVER® card or the like, may provide a rebate or rewards pointprogram tied to general card usage. The rebate is enjoyed by thecardholder who receives a check or credit on his or her account. Othershave suggested credit card systems that transfer a predetermined amountof money to an investment account periodically and bill the cardholderthrough the credit card account. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,470describes a credit card system in combination with a rebate that istransferred to an investment account. However, among other limitations,existing cards provide bonuses or rebates based only on individual cardusage. Moreover, the benefit or rebate is only enjoyed by the cardholderwho receives a check or credit on his or her account.

Generally, processing of charitable and other civic, donation-type orother contributions requires considerable time and resources to scoutout contributions, to solicit pledges on behalf of fundraisingorganizations, to have contributors fill out a pledge card, and to havecontributors honor their pledges. Considerable time and resources arealso required to process a pledge made by cash or check to get the fundsinto the fundraising organization's or the recipient's account.Processing charitable contributions also involves other costs such asthe use of volunteers to open envelopes, count cash contributions andgifts, segregate cash contributions and gifts, deposit costs associatedwith depositing cash into a fundraising organization account, and thelike.

Some have suggested the use of financial transaction cards in connectionwith methods and systems for making charitable contributions. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,366 to Ziarno (Ziarno) describes a methodand system for streamlining the giving of contribution and giftcommitments. Ziarno describes a method and system that require the useof a terminal in fundraising events for the solicitation and receivingof contributions and gifts. The terminal is a hand held unit with awire-less communication link that includes a card processor, a cardreader and accompanying circuitry that can read smart cards. Theterminal accepts cash currency contributions, and card contributions.

However, no organized manner to fund selective charitable or otheraccounts based on collective, multi-party activity exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention overcoming these and other problems in the art relates inone regard to a system and method for automated funding of a collectiveaccount, for instance generating a bonus or other reward calculatedbased on an aggregate usage of a plurality of individual financialinstruments that are linked to the collective account.

It is another feature of the invention to provide a financial instrumentthat is linked to an individual account and to a collective account, forfunding the collective account with a bonus that is calculated based onan aggregate usage of all financial instruments linked to the collectiveaccount.

It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide a methodand system for facilitating the giving of charitable contributions.

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method and system forfunding a main or collective account comprising issuing a plurality offinancial transaction instruments, linking the instruments to thecollective account, aggregating individual usage of all linkedinstruments, calculating a bonus based on the aggregate instrument usageand funding the bonus to the collective account. The funds in thecollective account may be used for a variety of purposes, such as makingcharitable contributions, funding political campaigns, makingcontributions to religious or civic groups or paying educationalexpenses.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a collectivefinancial transaction card, also referred to hereafter as a collectivecard (CC). The collective card may include means for operatively linkingthe card to an individual account, and to a collective account viaconventional card reader devices. For example, the collective card mayinclude one or more integrated circuits and a communication port forcommunicating with conventional card readers. For example, thecommunication port may be a contact or contactless interface.

The collective account may be funded with incentives or rewards value,such as a bonus or rebate or other type of value such as frequent fliermiles or the like. The bonus or rebate may be calculated based on anaggregate card usage of all collective cards that are linked to thecollective account. Alternatively, the collective account may also hefunded with direct contributions made by the cardholders on a periodicbasis or at random intervals.

The present invention also provides a more efficient, less costly methodand system for making and managing contributions to collective accountssuch as accounts of charitable or other fundraising organizations. Otherfeatures and advantages of the present invention will become apparentfrom the description of the embodiments in conjunction with thefollowing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of one embodiment of the present inventionillustrating a plurality of collective cards linked to an individualaccount and to a collective account.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the invention inanother regard.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the invention inanother regard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention relates generally to a system and method for funding acollective account based on the use of selected financial instruments.As used within the present invention and as detailed further below, acollective account may be any of a variety of accounts or other meansfor storing, pooling or tracking any value or credits which may beawarded to a customer. As further used and detailed herein, a financialinstrument may be any of a variety of devices, cards and accounts. Forexample, a financial instrument in accordance with the present inventionmay include collective cards which may include credit cards, such asMASTERCARD®, VISA®, DISCOVER® and AMERICAN EXPRESS® credit cards, ATMbanking cards, debit cards, gift cards, smart cards, proximity typedevices (i.e. such as SPEEDPASS® type devices) and other instrumentssuch as traditional checks and other commercial paper. Additionally, asused in accordance with the present invention, a financial instrumentmay include accounts such as, for example, demand deposit accounts,brokerage accounts, mutual fund accounts, money market accounts,telephone card accounts, wireless telephone accounts, frequent flieraccounts and the like.

In one embodiment of the invention, processing may include issuing aplurality of collective cards, and linking each collective card to anindividual account and to the collective account. The invention mayfurther include aggregating card usage for all linked cards in thecollective account. A bonus or other financial or non-financial rewardmay be calculated based on the aggregate card usage in the collectiveaccount, and the reward funded to the collective account. The aboveprocessing can be accomplished in real lime, or on a periodic basis. Thefunds in the collective account may be used for a variety of purposesincluding funding of member activities, various accounts of a civic,political, religious or other organization, or accounts of otherorganizations such as charitable organizations. For example, if theorganization is a political party the funds may be used to fundpolitical campaigns or other activities of members of the politicalparty.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method andsystem for making charitable contributions based on aggregate card usageby the members of an organization that may carry a collective card. Thecontributions may generate a bonus or other reward or value that may becalculated on a periodic or other basis, based for instance on anaggregate card usage by the members of the organization during a period.The contributions may be distributed to one or more charitableorganizations or other fundraising organizations as designated by thedonating organization. Individual card usage may be monitored in thecollective account and a bonus or other reward may be calculated basedon a formula such as, for example, as a percentage of the total cardusage over a selected time period. The bonus or other value or rewardmay be periodically funded to the collective account. Accumulated fundsin the collective account may be periodically distributed to one or moreaccounts of charitable institutions.

For example, a cardholder of a collective card may designate acharitable organization to receive a portion of the total reward thatcorresponds to that cardholder's individual card usage. Alternatively, acardholder may select a charitable organization from a list ofcharitable organizations that are associated with the collectiveaccount. The selection may be made in the application for obtaining thecollective card or at another time. The application form may be a paperform mailed to the members of an organization, or an electronic formaccessible at a website. Alternatively, a customer may apply for acollective card via an automated telephone system. Other well knownconventional ways for opening an account linked to a financialtransaction card may also be used.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a conventionalfinancial transaction card can be linked to a collective account uponexpress authorization by the cardholder. For instance, an issuer of acredit card such as a bank may establish a plurality of collectiveaccounts and designate each collective account for a particular purpose,such as an environmental protection fund, a charitable contributionaccount, an educational account, etc. The issuer of the credit cards maythen contact existing customers and offer them the option to add thecollective feature, i.e., linking their account to a collective accountof their choice.

Upon authorization by the cardholder, the issuer of the credit cards maylink the credit card account to the selected collective account forfunding the collective account with a bonus calculated based or anaggregated card usage of all credit cards linked to the selectedcollective account. Cardholders of the individual cards linked to acollective account need not necessarily all be members of the sameorganization. The organization may be the direct holder of thecollective account, may designate one or more charitable or otherorganizations to receive the funds from the collective account, maydeposit the funding or value into escrow, or otherwise dispose of or usethe value represented by the account.

Optionally, individual cardholders may make additional contributions tothe collective account, on a regular periodic basis, or at randomintervals. Reports or statements may also be issued to each cardholderor the organization reporting the amount of the charitable contributionand the recipient charitable organizations, on a periodic or otherbasis. These statements may also be combined with regular accountactivity statements.

Yet another embodiment of the invention relates to a computer-basedsystem for funding a collective account. The system may include aplurality of financial transaction cards linked to a plurality ofindividual accounts and to a collective account. Each card may includemeans for operatively linking the card to at least one individualaccount and to a collective account. For example, the card may be amagnetic card having one or more permanent or programmable memory meanssuch as magnetic stripes that contain information for accessing theaccounts linked to the card. The memory means can be read byconventional card reader devices. Alternatively, the card may be a smartcard comprising one or more integrated circuits (ICs) and acommunication port for exchanging information between the card and anexternal reader. The communication port may he a contact or contact-lessinterface.

The system may further include a central computer comprising hardwareand software for monitoring individual card usage, aggregating cardusage, and calculating a bonus based on the aggregate card usage of allaccounts linked to a collective account. The central computer may alsocontrol the funding of the collective account with the bonus,distributing the accumulated funds in the collective account to otheraccounts, and generating statements of individual, and collective cardactivity to the cardholders, and to the holder of the collectiveaccount.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an embodiment of the invention isillustrated for funding a collective account (CA), such as a charitablecontribution account. The system comprises a plurality of collectivecards 110, each card being operatively linked to at least one individualaccount (IA) 105. Also, each individual account 105 may be operativelylinked to a main or collective account 100. Alternatively, thecollective card may include means for linking the card directly to acollective account. Typically, an entity such as a financial institutionmay issue a plurality of collective cards 110 to members of anorganization (block 200), and link each collective card to an individualaccount 105 and to the collective account 100 (block 210). The methodmay further include steps of aggregating card usage for every individualaccount in the collective account (block 220), calculating a bonus basedon the aggregate card usage in the collective account (block 230), andfunding the collective account with the bonus (block 240).

An organization can be any entity having a set of members formed for thepursuit of a common goal or objective. Examples may include families,business organizations, trade organizations, political parties,religious organizations, athletic organizations, professional societies,research organizations, educational organizations, social servicesorganizations or many other types of entities. Further examples oforganizations include lobbying groups, Political Action Committees(PACs) and consortiums or alliances of smaller interested groups.Typically, the organization will be the holder of the collectiveaccount. However, the holder of the collective account may be adifferent organization from the organization whose members are thecardholders of the collective cards. For example, a bank may issuecollective cards to members of an educational institution, and link thecards to a collective charitable contribution account. The holder of thecollective account may be directly the recipient charitableorganization. The funds in the collective account may be used by theorganization for a variety of purposes such as to fund its ownactivities. The funds may also be used for funding accounts of otherorganizations. For example, the organization may use the funds formaking charitable contributions to one or more charitable organizations,or other fundraising organizations.

The collective account may also include one or more sub-accounts, eachsub-account being designated for a different purpose. A cardholder of acollective card (i.e., a card that is linked to a collective account),may direct his or her contribution to one or more of the sub-accounts.In another embodiment, a collective card may be linked to one or morecollective accounts. The bonus or other value may be distributed equallyamong these accounts or according to some predetermined formula.

Cardholders of a collective card according to the invention may selectwhich account or sub-accounts may receive the bonus funds or othervalue. Thus, the purpose or use of the bonus funds may vary and may bedetermined by the individual cardholders, the issuing bank, or theorganization whose members are issued the individual collective cards.Monitoring of individual card usage, aggregating card usage, calculatingthe bonus, and funding of the collective account may be done in realtime, or on a periodic basis using conventional computerized means.Additionally, awards and credits for card holders may be adjusted overselected periods of time to encourage funding the collective account.For instance, awards and credits for card holders may be increasedduring fundraising events or during seasons of the year during whichspending is expected to increase. The invention may include a centralcomputer including hardware and/or software for accomplishing thesefunctions.

Referring to FIG. 3, an embodiment of the invention is illustrated thatincludes establishing a collective account for making charitable orother contributions for an organization (block 300). A financialinstitution such as a bank may issue a plurality of individualcollective cards 110 to members of the organization or others thatdesire to receive the collective card (block 305). Each collective card100 may be linked to at least one individual account for monitoringindividual usage of the card, and billing, according to conventionalsystems and methods. Each collective card 110 may also be linked to thecollective account 100 for aggregating purchases made with thecollective card in the collective account 100. The invention further mayinclude calculating a bonus or other reward based on an aggregate cardusage of all collective cards linked to the collective account (block315).

The invention may further include distributing the calculated bonus toat least one charitable institution designated by the organization on aperiodic basis (block 320). The invention may likewise include issuingcharitable contribution statements to the cardholders on a periodicbasis (block 325). Individual card usage may be monitored and aggregatedin the collective account in real time or by selected categories ofinterest.

A charitable or other reward may be calculated in a number of differentways, including, for example, based on a designated percentage of theaggregate card usage over a selected period of time. Additionally, cardusage may be measured in a number of different ways such as, forexample, the total value of the goods or services purchased for a month.The amount of the bonus or other reward may be designated and funded bythe card issuer, or the organization that is the holder of thecollective account. A reward program might, illustratively, be set up togenerate rewards based on certain percent of the total purchase value ofthe goods or services purchased over a period (i.e. 1% of the totalpurchases made), or other ranges or calculations might be employed tostructure the reward. Further, rewards may be graduated depending on thelevel of card activity and based on preset award amounts (i.e. a $20award based on card usage exceeding $1000 and a $40 award for card usageover $1500). Additionally, rewards could be graduated and granted basedon selected customizable dates or events such as for a fundraising driveor for selected holidays and seasons. Such awards may also be made on aone-time basis, for instance, upon the purchase of a house or uponregistering for a specific promotion. For awards based upon demanddeposit accounts, brokerage accounts and the like, rewards may be basedupon, for example, maintaining certain levels of balances over selectedperiods of time or making certain amounts of deposits.

It is important to note that each card and each charitable account isnot restricted to any single type of award or method of funding.Further, it is important to note that each card and each charitableaccount is not limited having only a single vendor as the source forgranting the awards and funding. For instance, a charitable or otherreward may be accumulated using a combination of programs which may beawarded by multiple, independent vendors. For example, a single cardholder may receive a first award to a charitable account which isawarded by a first vendor and calculated, for instance, as a designatedpercentage of the aggregate card usage over a selected period of time.Additionally, the same card holder may receive a second award to thesame charitable account which is awarded by a second vendor based upon,for instance, the occurrence of a specific event (i.e. staying at aspecific hotel, flying a specific airlines, purchasing a home from aspecific broker). Accordingly, the present invention is not limited toany specific combination of programs, awards or vendors.

For each cardholder, the period for updating the main account of theindividual card usage, calculating and distributing the reward may varydepending on a number of factors, for example, financial or taxconsiderations of the individual cardholder or the holder of thecollective account. For example, individual cardholders may prefer anannual distribution of the charitable bonus contributions prior to theend of the fiscal year in order to be able to claim a tax deduction forthat year.

Optionally, on an annual basis or after some other time period, astatement may be forwarded to the holder of the collective account andto each cardholder of a collective card itemizing all contributionsgiven, e.g. to charitable organizations, for tax purposes, or otherwise.The statement may be formatted so that a tax processing entity, e.g. theUnited States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a state tax body, willaccept the information for substantiating the contribution at issue,and/or grant a charitable contribution deduction. It will be understoodthat records of the contribution made by a number of cardholdercontributors can be processed and forwarded to each respectivecardholder contributor for meeting contribution or gift quotas and forsubstantiating charitable contribution or gift deductions.

A charitable account may be used to fund a corresponding charitableorganization i.e., an organization that is awarded nonprofit status bythe IRS or other body. For example, in the United States, charitableorganizations may include nonprofit tax exempt organizations that areclassified under appropriate sections of the federal tax code. Thisclassification is a reliable indicator of the tax deductibility ofcontributions and gifts. Charitable organizations for example mayinclude public charities and private foundations. Typically, a publiccharity may solicit funds from the public and use the funds to sponsoror support social, educational, or religious activities, or engage inactivities that provide for relief for distressed or underprivilegedindividuals.

The group of charitable organizations may illustratively includechurches, conventions or associations of churches; educationalorganizations; hospitals and medical research organizations;organizations created to benefit state and municipal colleges anduniversities that normally receive their support from the government orthe general public; and other publicly supported organizations such asmuseums, libraries, support groups for cultural organizations,organizations for the gathering of contributions and gifts for researchinto and the elimination of medical disorders, and organizations thatprovide direct services to the public.

Fundraising organizations also include organizations that receive themajority of their support from activities relating to their tax exemptfunctions, such as a museum's receipts or tuition paid to an educationalinstitution. Fundraising organizations or gifts recipients also includepublic television, radio and other forms of media organizations thatderive support from the public by way of contributions and gifts.

Fundraising organizations also include those organized exclusively tosupport other qualified public charities, such as churches, schools, andhospitals; those operated for the purpose of testing products for publicsafety; and private foundations established to maintain or aid social,educational, religious, or other charitable purposes.

A “fundraiser” or “fundraising organization” may be a privatefoundation; a tax exempt corporation; a not-for-profit corporation; anorganization organized and operated exclusively for religious,charitable, scientific testing for public safety, literary oreducational purposes to foster national or international amateur sportscompetition, and/or for the prevention of cruelty to children oranimals; a civic league; an organization not organized for profit butoperated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare; and, privatefor profit an not-for-profit organization that gather a contribution orgift on behalf the above mentioned organizations. Exemplaryorganizations may include the Red Cross, the Boy Scouts, the GirlScouts, Salvation Army, American Heart Association, American DiabetesAssociation, United Way Crusade of Mercy, high schools, grammar schools,colleges, museums, and fundraising arms of other organizations, and thelike.

A “fundraising organization” and/or “fundraiser” also may include apolitical organization, a party, committee, association, fund, or otherorganization, fund, or other organization (whether incorporated or not)organized and operated primarily for the purpose of directly orindirectly expenditure, or both, for an “exempt function.” An exemptfunction may include the function of influencing or attempting toinfluence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of anindividual to any Federal, State, or local public office or office in apolitical organization, or the election of Presidential orVice-Presidential electors, whether or not such an individual orelectors, whether or not such an individual or electors are selected,nominated, elected, or appointed; and, a campaign committee, and/or afund established for the nomination or election of an individual to aFederal, State, or Public office.

Another illustrative embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG.4, in which a plurality of collective cards are issued to members of afamily (block 400). A family may be a group of individuals living underone roof such as a traditional family, or a group of common ancestry, orgroup of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation.The cards are linked to a collective account (block 405). The funds inthe collective account may be used for a variety of purposes, forexample, the collective family account may be an educational accountthat can be used to pay family educational expenses and may qualify forpreferential tax treatment under existing tax laws. The collectiveaccount may also be a family savings account, a family investmentaccount or a special tax free or tax deferred account (i.e. a 529account, 401(k) account, or a Roth IRA account). The invention furtherincludes steps of aggregating card usage (block 410) and calculating abonus or other reward based on the aggregate card usage (block 415), andfunding the educational account with the bonus (block 420). Familymembers may also make independent contributions to the collective familyaccount either on a regular periodic basis, or at random intervals.

The funds in the collective family account may also be used for morethan one purpose, e.g., a part of the funds may go to a charitableorganization, another part may go to an educational fund account,another part may go to an investment account, and yet another part maygo to a retirement or medical account, etc. Also, family members may beable to direct where their bonus contributions go.

The invention may also employ conventional security means for ensuringthat the security and privacy of the individual accounts is notcompromised.

Thus, personal information in an individual account would not beaccessible by other cardholders or by the organization itself, withoutthe express consent of individual cardholders. For example, a collectivefamily account may allow the head of the family or the holder of thecollective family account to view monitoring of individual cardactivity, typically in a combined statement. Typically, however,individual card usage data may be electronically monitored in thecollective account for purposes of calculating a bonus based on anaggregate card usage of all linked cards, without divulging personalcardholder information.

In another embodiment of the invention the collective card may be asmart card that may include means for storing transactional data, i.e.,data related to transactions involving the account associated with thatcard. Examples of such transactional data include the amounts of moneyspent on certain goods or services, the names of the establishment wheresuch transaction takes place, the date and time of such expenditures,and the like. Moreover, each card may be associated with a singleindividual or multiple individual accounts. The individual account oraccounts linked to each card may be automatically updated astransactions occur. The individual smart card also may communicate withother devices using a wireless link.

The foregoing embodiments have been presented for the purpose ofillustration and description only, and variations in implementation willoccur to persons skilled in the art. For instance, as detailed earlierabove, although the present invention has been discussed primarily withrespect to the use of collective cards, the present invention has beendesigned and is intended for use with any of a variety of financialinstruments including demand deposit accounts, brokerage accounts,mutual fund accounts, money market accounts, telephone card accounts,wireless telephone accounts, frequent flier accounts and the likewithout limitation. The scope of the invention is intended to be limitedonly by the claims appended hereto.

1-28. (canceled)
 29. A computer-implemented method for routing paymentobjects to a processor agent based on payment methods, the methodcomprising: receiving, by at least one processor, instructions to linktwo or more first financial transaction cards to a first collectiveaccount, which comprises a plurality of subaccounts; receiving, by atleast one processor, instructions to link two or more second financialtransaction cards to a second collective account, which comprises aplurality of subaccounts; monitoring, by at least one processor, theusage of the two or more first financial transaction cards and the twoor more second financial transaction cards; creating, by at least oneprocessor, a first set of payment objects linked to the two or morefirst financial transaction cards, each of the first payment objectsindicating the two or more first financial transaction cards and apayment value calculated based on the aggregate usage of the two or morefirst financial transaction cards; creating, by at least one processor,a second set of payment objects linked to the two or more secondfinancial transaction cards, each of the second payment objectsindicating the two or more second financial transaction cards and apayment value calculated based on the aggregate usage of the two or moresecond financial transaction cards; receiving, by at least oneprocessor, the plurality of payment objects comprising the first set andsecond set of payment objects; accessing, by at least one processor,each payment object to determine its associated financial transactioncards; routing, by at least one processor, the received plurality ofpayment objects to be processed against at least one of the plurality ofsubaccounts of the first collective account and at least one of theplurality of subaccounts of the second collective accounts based ontheir respective links to the two or more first financial transactioncards and the two or more second financial transaction cards.
 30. Themethod of claim 29, wherein the two or more first financial transactioncards and the two or more second financial transaction cards areselected from a group consisting of: credit cards, ATM banking cards,debit cards, gift cards, smart cards, proximity type devices, andchecks.
 31. The method of claim 29, further comprising, a firstprocessor agent calculating and distributing funds based on the firstset of payment objects.
 32. The method of claim 29, further comprising,a second processor agent calculating and distributing funds based on thesecond set of payment objects.
 33. The method of claim 29, furthercomprising, receiving instructions to link some or all of the two ormore first payment accounts to a third processor agent.
 34. The methodof claim 33, further comprising, receiving instructions to link some orall of the two or more second payment accounts to a fourth processoragent.
 35. A computer program product for enabling a computer to routepayment objects to a processor agent based on a payment method,comprising: a non-transitory computer readable medium; and softwareinstructions on the non-transitory computer readable medium that enablethe computer to perform operations of: receiving instructions to linktwo or more first financial transaction cards to a first collectiveaccount, which comprises at least one subaccount; receiving instructionsto link two or more second financial transaction cards to a secondcollective account, which comprises at least one subaccount; monitoringthe usage of the two or more first financial transaction cards and thetwo or more second financial transaction cards; creating a first set ofpayment objects linked to the two or more first financial transactioncards, each of the first payment objects indicating the two or morefirst financial transaction cards and a payment value, wherein thepayment value is calculated based on the aggregate usage of the two ormore first financial transaction cards; creating a second set of paymentobjects linked to the two or more second financial transaction cards,each of the second payment objects indicating the two or more secondfinancial transaction cards and a payment value, wherein the paymentvalue is calculated based on the aggregate usage of the two or moresecond financial transaction cards; receiving the plurality of paymentobjects comprising the first set and second set of payment objects;accessing each payment object to determine its associated financialtransaction cards; routing the received plurality of payment objects tobe processed against at least one of the plurality of subaccounts of thefirst collective account and at least one of the plurality ofsubaccounts of the second collective account based on their respectivelinks to the two or more first financial transaction cards and the twoor more second financial transaction cards.
 36. The computer programproduct of claim 35, wherein the two or more first financial transactioncards and the two or more second financial transaction cards areselected from a group consisting of: credit cards, ATM banking cards,debit cards, gift cards, smart cards, proximity type devices, andchecks.
 37. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein thesoftware instructions further enable the computer to perform theoperation of, a first processor agent calculating and distributing fundsbased on the first set of payment objects.
 38. The computer programproduct of claim 35, wherein the software instructions further enablethe computer to perform the operation of, a second processor agentcalculating and distributing funds based on the second set of paymentobjects.
 39. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein thesoftware instructions further enable the computer to perform theoperation of, receiving instructions to link some or all of the two ormore first payment accounts to a third processor agent.
 40. The computerprogram product of claim 39, wherein the software instructions furtherenable the computer to perform the operation of, receiving instructionsto link some or all of the two or more second payment accounts to afourth processor agent.